Willamette Advances To Naia Title Game Vs. Findlay

Small-college football

Rich Rideout ran for 83 yards and a touchdown as Willamette advanced to the NAIA championship game with a 17-7 victory Saturday in Portland over Sioux Falls, S.D.

Willamette (13-0) will play Findlay, Ohio (13-0) next Saturday in Savannah, Tenn., for the NAIA title. Findlay defeated Doane, Neb., in Saturday’s other semifinal.

The No. 2 Bearcats, who rushed for a school-record 554 yards in last week’s quarterfinal win over Montana Tech, rushed for just 195 yards against Sioux Falls, but made a 17-7 halftime lead hold up.

Willamette took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter on an 8-yard run by Rideout and a 28-yard field goal by Gordon Thomson. The No. 3 Cougars (11-2) cut the lead to 10-7 on David Ruter’s 1-yard touchdown run with 7:25 left in the second quarter.

Willamette quarterback Chuck Pinkerton left the game with a shoulder injury after he was hit by the Cougars’ Travis Bussa with 3:40 left in the half.

Three plays later, Pinkerton’s replacement, Jay Douglass, passed to running back Stephen Person, who pulled up and threw a 44-yard touchdown to Tim Blair to put Willamette ahead 17-7.

The Bearcats’ defense sacked Sioux Falls quarterbacks Dax Michelena and Danny Martin six times.

NCAA Division II championship

At Florence, Ala. Billy Holmes rushed for a title-game record 195 yards and scored three touchdowns Saturday to lead Northern Colorado to its second straight NCAA Division II championship, 51-0 over New Haven.

It was the biggest blowout in the 25-year history of the title game and it put the Bears (13-2) one title away from matching North Alabama’s record of three straight championships from 1993-95.

New Haven (12-2) was shut out for the first time since 1983. It was the first title-game shutout since Mississippi College beat Jacksonville State 3-0 in 1989.

NCAA Division III championship

At Salem, Va., Bill Borchert threw for 411 yards and six touchdowns as Mount Union defeated Lycoming 61-12 to win its second-straight Stagg Bowl.

Mount Union finished 14-0 for the second year in a row, outscoring its opponents by an average score of 54-8. The Purple Raiders have the longest collegiate winning streak, winning 28 consecutive games since losing in the 1995 semifinals.

Lycoming finished 12-1. Mount Union has won three national titles in five years.